Red Spots
by throughclosedeyelids
Summary: It was just supposed to be a routine run for supplies to a supermarket just outside camp - bandages, rubbing alcohol, nothing major.


Disclaimer: Don't own.

* * *

It was just supposed to be a routine run for medicine. Nothing major, just that the camp was dangerously low on bandages and rubbing alcohol, and with Apollo missing in action, there was no way they were getting any from the gods.

When Will brought it up during a counselor's meeting on Thursday, Nico knew he should've been concerned when the only two people Will planned to take with him - a grumpy Lou Ellen and a tired Cecil - had never been questing before. No one seemed to take issue with this except Nico.

"The monsters haven't disappeared just because we've defeated Gaea," he tried to explain. "Lou Ellen and Cecil have never been outside camp before, and neither of them know how to fight very well-"

"Hey!" Lou Ellen interjected. "I can handle myself perfectly fine-"

"Magic can only do so much good in a fight. The only thing Cecil knows how to do is mess things up, and Will..."

He couldn't help but wince at the look of shame on Will's face. "I know, I'm no good at sword fighting. Or, well, any weapon really... but we'll only be a few miles away. Argus will be driving us. We'll be fine, Nico."

"At least let me shadow travel you there, I can help shroud you from monsters..." Nico pleaded.

"No." While the discussion had grown more tense, Nico had almost forgotten Chiron's presence at the meeting until he spoke up. "You've barely recovered from transporting the Athena Parthenos. We can't have you nearly fading again."

Nico looked hopelessly about the table. No one seemed to have any inclination of the danger Will could face. Percy and Jason were listening as though impatient, neither of them concerned; Annabeth was designing new cabins in her scrapbook; Travis and Connor were planning something suspicious; Clovis was sleeping; and no one else seemed to be paying attention.

Except Piper, who was presumably sensing Nico's panic right about now.

"Nico, they'll be less than twenty minutes away from camp. I'll give Will a couple drachmas so he can IM us if he needs to. They'll be fine." Piper said calmly.

Nico deflated. Maybe she was right. There couldn't be that many monsters right outside camp, after all.

"Well, if you guys are done, I'd like to discuss our plans for the second ring of cabins…"

* * *

The next day, Nico barely caught up to Will as he was leaving. The sun shone in his eyes as he ran over the top of Half-Blood Hill to the road below, black sneakers slipping on the freshly trimmed grass. Will turned in time to see him, blue eyes glimmering, one foot in the door of Argus' van.

"Will, be careful. There's been a lot of activity recently-" Nico began.

"This again?" Will said, frustrated. He withdrew his foot from the floor of the van (in which Lou Ellen was loudly chewing gum and Cecil looking boredly out of the window) to take Nico by the shoulders. "You worry so much, sometimes I think you should be the doctor, not me."

"Will, just listen to me! It's dangerous, and that sword you're carrying is next to useless. Here, just take mine, one swipe and whatever you hit will be sent into oblivion-"

Will looked alarmed as Nico hurriedly took off his scabbard and slid it into Will's belt. Will slid out the sword cautiously, the black blade shimmering, beautifully dark and cool in the hot midday sunshine. "Nico, don't worry about us. We'll be fine, especially with your death sword." Will said, trying to calm Nico down. He sheathed the sword and, with one last gap-toothed smile, climbed into the van and slid the door shut. After a few moments, Argus drove away, dried mud on the tires spinning into the air and blinding Nico as he turned back to Half-Blood Hill.

* * *

Twenty minutes hadn't passed before Nico felt something strange happen. What he hadn't told Will was that the sword was directly tied to his powers; whenever it absorbed a monster's soul, he felt an increase in his energy.

And suddenly, he was feeling a lot stronger than he had been before.

Without a second's hesitation, Nico jumped out of his coffin-bed, scraping the back of his calf on the frame (he really needed to fix that), and wove nearby shadows into a cocoon around him.

When he re-emerged from the void, he collapsed to his knees on the white tiled floor of what he would assume to be a supermarket. Not from nearly fading, but from the pain of sensing a life force slowly bleeding out. Nico took in his surroundings, the shelves and counter overturned, merchandise and drachmas rolling across the floor - and in one corner, Will clutching his arm and standing, shielding Lou Ellen and Cecil from what appeared to be a very angry pack of empousai, in the process of seemingly baiting Will.

And on the floor next to them, his sword. Nico knew what to do.

In half a second, he had shadow traveled to his sword and then to the empousai, mercilessly slicing limb and head from body and kicking and blocking and then one had her sword to his throat - he shadow traveled to her sister and ripped out hers. All around him, their screams of pain fed his power, gold dust coating his hair and sneakers, sword glowing with his power, blinding him - until there were no more, just him standing in front of Will, hurt and injured Will, Nico covered in gold dust with a terrifying expression on his face.

Gods, he'd forgotten how good it felt to fight.

But he'd also forgotten the pain of dying friends.

Will collapsed forward violently, and his skull would have cracked open on the tile if Nico hadn't caught him in time. He laid him gently on the cool tile floor, colder after he'd come in. Will coughed and spat blood, while Lou Ellen and Cecil gathered at his side and Nico tried to soothe him.

"I'll bleed to death in minutes, Nico. There's no way we'll get back in time-" Will never got the chance to finish, as Nico grabbed hold of Cecil and Lou Ellen, transporting the four of them straight into the infirmary.

Immediately Will's siblings flooded over them, carrying him into a camp bed and escorting Cecil and Loy Ellen away to be looked over for wounds, claiming 'no visitors allowed' - but no one asked him to leave. He never let go of Will's hand as Austin murmured hymns to stop the bleeding and Kayla used the last of camp bandages to wrap up his arm. He heard mutters of 'poisoned blade' and 'no idea what effect it'll have' but he could really not care less in the moment. All he could feel was Will's life essence, minutes ago on the brink of death, and now quietly flickering but otherwise stable. As the tired healers gradually trickled out of the infirmary to replenish their powers, Nico stayed by his bedside with his eyes closed, the sunbeams glaring through the window, making red spots dance under his eyelids.


End file.
